The present disclosure relates generally to a vacuum slip roll used in the manufacture of an article. More particularly, some aspects of the disclosure relate to an anvil roll, anvil-roll plate, and/or a slip-and-cut system used in the manufacture of an absorbent article or the like and the methods of using the same.
Many absorbent articles intended for personal wear, such as diapers, training pants, feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence products, bandages, medical garments, and the like have been manufactured by processes wherein discrete parts or segments of the article are deposited on a continuously moving product web. In such processes, a vacuum slip roll, anvil roll, or the like may be used when cutting, transporting, and transferring the segment to the moving product web. For example, a known slip-and-cut manufacturing process uses a vacuum drum rotating at a speed faster than an incoming web from which the segment is to be cut. The incoming web thus slips on the drum surface until a cut-off knife cuts a correct length of the web thereby forming the segment. The cut-off knife may be mounted on a cutting roll which moves with a surface velocity similar to that of the rotating vacuum drum and which cuts the segment from the incoming web when the knife comes into contact with the rotating vacuum drum. The cut segment is held to the surface of the drum by a vacuum drawn through holes provided in the drum. The segment is held and transported on the drum to a transfer point where the segment is transferred to the continuously moving product web forming at least a portion of the absorbent article.
However, one or more problems may arise when using this known process for non-uniform incoming webs. That is, in some applications, the incoming web (i.e., the web from which the discrete segments are to be cut) may comprise multiple regions of material comprising differing mechanical properties. For example, the incoming web may comprise a base substrate with one or more fastening components disposed thereon. The one or more fastening components may comprise any suitable material used to fasten the absorbent article about a wearer, such as a hook material. In such cases, this non-uniformity of the incoming web may cause problems when the incoming web slips on the surface of the vacuum drum. For example, the fastening (e.g., hook) material may engage the slip surface with a greater friction force than the surrounding base substrate of the incoming web thereby causing undesired wear in the region of the vacuum drum contacted by the fastening region. Further, when the fastening component comprises a hook material, the hooks may become warn or deformed due to the hooks interaction with the rotating drum surface.
Thus, there remains a need for a vacuum drum that eliminates one or more of the problems caused by known slip-and-cut processes when manufacturing absorbent articles or the like. More specifically, there remains a need for an improved vacuum slip drum to be used when cutting and transporting discrete segments from non-uniform incoming webs.